//------------------------------// // CH 75 Gilda's New Clothes // Story: Twilight's Nightmare // by Nightsclaw //------------------------------// “Why couldn’t we stay in the cloud fort?” Gilda grumbled as she glanced at the smooth stone ceiling again. She knew it was well made, it was likely the best-made thing on the planet thanks to Miss Purple-Princess-Overachiever, but that still did nothing to help the feeling that at any moment, countless tons of rock would come crashing down to bury her alive.   She turned her attention back to shoving herself into this so-called correctly-sized uniform. By the end of it, she still had all her feathers at least. She held up a talon. The fingerless glove made it hard to believe it was her own. She examined her reflection in the polished metal surface. The flight suited griffon in the mirror should have meant something, but it was nothing compared to the new colours in her wings. Gilda shifted and stretched her talons, trying to smooth the flight suit into place. The almost skin-tight material clung to her form and tugged on her coat. How does Dash put up with this… Another few minutes of uncomfortable fine adjustments, and Gilda could move without wanting to take someone’s head off. First, each leg and then each wing went through stretches, combat moves and light motions. The few tugs on her coat were only barely able to draw a wince from her. “And that’s why I condition my coat,” Dash said. Gilda rolled her eyes and then glared at her friend. “Are you telling me I’m going to need to?” “Well, unless you like feeling like your flight suit is gonna leave you balled, then yeah….” Gilda sighed, “I’m going to be a laughing stock.” “At least you’ll smell nice.” “You know, I’ll still smell of dead meat and fish to most of you ponies.” “I don’t mind fish.” “Well, you’re not most ponies.” Gilda’s stomach picked that moment to speak up with a low grumble. “Think Twilight has more left?” “Yeah, I think she has some,” Dash said, licking her own lips. She turned and trotted outside. Gilda loped after her. “You seen that freaky tree she’s growing.” Dash glanced over her shoulder. “Yeah… looks like something out of a Daring Do story… or maybe a horror one.” “I don’t think any giff is going to care if the meat and fish fruits taste even half as good as they smell.” She sighed, still the easiest scent in the air to catch was ash. Rainbow Dash’s movement paused for just a moment, less than a heartbeat, then shook her head before strutting up to the edge of the platform. Gilda joined her friend, her wingmate, making a matched pair, both with lavender feathers amongst their primaries marking them as Twilight’s far more intimately than the uniform they both wore. Dash’s blade and buckler substituting for Gilda’s razor talons, and her own bow and quivers in place of Dash’s hoof bombs. If Gilda was any indication, they looked ready for war. She looked out over the edge, past the slight magenta haze of Twilight’s shield.   The once verdant hunting grounds were now blackened and near featureless. Anywhere the Blight might have hidden was denied them in spectacular pyrotechnic fashion. All dressed up for battle just in time for peace. She thought, trying to ignore the hollowness that nestled in her chest at seeing how little of her home truly remained. “Well, enough talk about food. We still have hours until lunch.” Rainbow flared her wings. The air around them hummed with energy as a few flickers of lighting danced along her feathers. “So, ready?” Vibrations tickled through Gilda’s feathers. The new feeling was not quite physical, but it was the only way she could make sense of it. The air around Dash vibrated with the same sensation as her wings. “Always,” Gilda said, breathing slowly. She pushed all the negative and dark thoughts into a corner and focused on something else. She closed her eyes and sought out Twilight’s blessing. It took a few seconds, but then she found it. Wind and thunder danced with each other right next to her heart. Her talon found its place over her heart as she let the new feeling in her chest flow out and into her wings. The new vibration at first conflicted with Dash’s before it slowly settled into something complementary to it, a harmony. “That’s it,” Dash said, her pleased smirk audible in her tone. “You can do it.” “I’m not some fledgling….” Gilda said, feeling her talons dig groves into the stone. Leaving yet another permanent mark of her temper upon the world. “I didn’t say you were.” “You were thinking it.” “Look, G, chill. You got a whole new type of magic. It’s going to take a bit of time to get up to max awesomeness.” Gilda took a breath. The ash scent did not do wonders to help her mood, but dam it all, Dash was right. She schooled her expression and gave one firm nod. “Now, ready to fly?” This time Dash’s tone was supportive, with not a single hint of pride or arrogance. “Always,” Gilda said, relishing the kiss of the wind as it flowed through her spreading wings. With finality, Dash snapped her flight goggles into place. “Last one back to the airship is a rotten egg.” Dash’s wing came down, and the weird vibration surged and exploded. Dash rocketed into the sky, a rainbow trail in her wake. With a sigh, Gilda leapt into the air, powerful legs launching her higher than they ever had. Her wings pushed her forward with a literal thunderclap. Her ears still rang as she rocketed after that prismatic tail. Gilda’s ragged breath put lie to her words before she even spoke them. “Pony magic… makes this too easy.” “Yeah, yeah,” Dash said, still hovering with ease. Gilda did not even get up. She simply glared. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” Dash said, holding her hooves up in placation. “You’re good. You kept up with me. Even before Twilight’s little upgrade, that’s amazing in its own right.” “Then how come I’m laying here winded, and you’re fine?” “You’re still using brute force and not what that new pegasus magic is really good at.” “Flyings flying.” “And that’s where you’re wrong.” Gilda just returned a flat look. “Pegasus magic, when it really comes down to it, is the creation, storing and redirection  of momentum….” She started sounding as if she was doing a bad Twilight impression. “Or something like that.” “Redirecting?” “Yeah. How did you think I can turn like that?” “I didn’t really think about it… I thought you were that good.” Dash smirked. “I am, but your wings have always been stronger than mine… it’s our magic that was different.” “So that Sonic Rainboom?” “You keep practising, and you might just get close enough to my level of awesomeness to pull one off.” “Think Twilight can do one?” Dash’s hooves clopped onto the wooden deck. “You know, I don’t know.” “Didn’t you teach her to fly?” “Yeah… but lately she’s been pulling all sorts of old school stuff cos of Luna.”   “Well, given she can teleport, I guess she would not need to.” “Why?” “Well, nothing faster than a teleport.” “Yeah… but it’s cheating.” “She’s an Alicorn, for wind’s sake. Of course she’s cheating. Everything she can do is just crazy.” “Hey, Gilda?” Dash asked, her tone now flat and professional. “Tell me that’s not what I think it is.” Gilda looked up to find Dash’s extended hoof. She followed its line off into the distance. There in the distance, at almost the limit of what her eagle eyes could see, was a large group of flyers. As she strained her eyes to make out any detail, the scene swam into clear focus. Right, another chosen thing to get used to. Six dozen armoured griffons held formation as they made a beeline straight for the new mountain fort. “I recognised that formation. Griffons, right?” Dash asked. “Yeah, but I don’t recognise their colours.” “I thought you knew them all.” “So did I,” Gilda stated, a sense of unease building with each second she had to study their movements and equipment. “Dash, let Twilight know.” “On it.” With a blur of motion just a hair’s breadth slower than rainboom speed, she was off. “If they’re here to render military honours to one Princess Twilight, I’ll eat my own tail.”